Reducing Hospitalizations and Costs: A Home Health Nutrition-Focused Quality Improvement Program.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Identification and treatment of malnutrition across the care continuum can help prevent illness onset or relapse and maximize the effectiveness of other medical treatments. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a nutrition-focused quality improvement program (QIP) conducted in a home health agency (HHA) on hospitalization rates and healthcare costs incurred over 90 days.

Methods

This was a multisite, pre-post QIP implemented at 2 branches of an Illinois-based HHA. The QIP included 1546 patients who were (1) at-risk or malnourished hospitalized patients discharged to the HHA, (2) referred by a physician during an outpatient visit, or (3) enrolled in the HHA through a skilled nursing facility. A historic (n = 7413 patients) and concurrent group (n = 5235) of pa

SUBMITTER: Riley K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7003931 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature